By Jim Mcleod 
Matt Glasby: The Horror of My Life
The first horror book I remember reading
The Hills Have Eyes Part 2 by David Ferring, aged about 10 – the novelisation you never knew you needed. It really stayed with me over the years, but maybe that was just the cover, which was terrifying. I didn’t see the film until I was a grown-up and, well, let’s just say (as the tagline goes) the lucky ones were already dead.
THE FIRST HORROR MOVIE I REMEMBER WATCHING
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, again around 10 – but this time with my poor granny. I don’t know what she made of it, but I loved it. Unlike some of the later Fridays, it’s really well made, funny and scary, plus there’s a great Alice Cooper soundtrack. I still watch old slashers hoping they’ll be this good. But mostly they aren’t.
The Greatest Horror Book of All Time
IT by Stephen King is astonishing – terrifying, epic and intimate all at once. And the careful prose of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House is chilling a different way.
The Greatest Horror Film of all time
The Book of Horror is an attempt to collate the scariest films of all time – which isn’t quite the same thing, but close enough. There are around 150 films featured, 35 of them in-depth, with beautiful illustrations by Barney Bodoano, and you could make a case for any of these being the greatest of all time. If pressed, I’d probably say The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, but it would be a different answer tomorrow.
THE GREATEST WRITER OF ALL TIME
MR James pretty much single-handedly invented the ghost story. And despite being written more than 100 years ago, the likes of Count Magnus and
Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad are still haunting in the extreme.
THE BEST BOOK COVER OF ALL TIME
May I direct you back to The Hills Have Eyes Part 2?
THE BEST FILM POSTER OF ALL TIME
I love lurid, vintage stuff like Mario Bava’s Black Sunday, but I’m going for the iconic black-and-white poster for The Blair Witch Project. Some creepy trees, Heather’s traumatised eyes, and that iconic title card: “In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared…” Perfection.
THE BEST BOOK / FILM I HAVE WRITTEN
Mainly thanks to Barney’s illustrations, and the design team’s sterling work, The Book of Horror is a thing of beauty. It’s the book I wanted to write my whole life, since I first got my hands on Phil Hardy’s Aurum Encyclopedia of Film Vol 3: Horror, and I’m really proud of it. The new version takes us right up to the present, with entries on films like Oddity and Longlegs. But there’s great stuff being released all the time, so I hope to keep updating it every few years.
THE WORST BOOK / FILM I HAVE WRITTEN
I love Britpop Cinema: From Trainspotting to This Is England with all my heart, and the 20 people who read it were really nice about it. It’s had an interesting after-life in university courses and BFI lectures, but writing it almost sent me crazy, so I’m picking that.
THE MOST UNDERRATED FILM OF ALL TIME
Lake Mungo by Joel Anderson is deeply scary and deeply sad – something that stays with you long after the credits roll. If you haven’t seen it, check it out.
THE MOST UNDERRATED BOOK OF ALL TIME
It’s not horror, but Your Face Here by Ali Catterall and Simon Wells has a great chapter on The Wicker Man. It’s one of my favourite film books – and was a real inspiration on Britpop Cinema.
THE MOST UNDERRATED AUTHOR OF ALL TIME
I love Josh Winning’s books, from The Shadow Glass and Burn the Negative through to this year’s Heads Will Roll. They’re genre-savvy, super-pacey and full of heart.
THE BOOK / FILM THAT SCARED ME THE MOST
I’m going to say Ju-On: The Grudge, which I watched with no subtitles in an empty flat in Hong Kong. I hadn’t a clue what was going on, but it freaked the hell out of me.
THE BOOK / FILM I AM WORKING ON NEXT
I’ve written a horror novel about a failing film critic who stumbles upon a spooky mystery. It’s exactly the sort of thing I’d want to read if I hadn’t written it. Let’s hope other people feel the same.
The Book of Horror: The Anatomy of Fear in Film, by Matt Glasby (Author), Barney Bodoano (Illustrator)
“… the definitive guide to what properly messes us up.”
― SFX Magazine
“Glasby anatomises horror’s scare tactics with keen, lucid clarity across 34 carefully selected main films – classic and pleasingly obscure. 4 Stars.”
― Total Film
The Book of Horror introduces the scariest movies ever made and examines what makes them so frightening.
Horror movies have never been more critically or commercially successful, but there’s only one metric that matters: are they scary? Back in the silent era, viewers thrilled at Frankenstein and Dracula. Today, the monsters may have changed, but the instinct remains the same: to seek out the unspeakable, ride the adrenaline rush and play out our fears in the safety of the cinema.
The Book of Horror focuses on the most frightening films of the post-war era – from Psycho (1960) to Longlegs (2024) – examining exactly how they scare us across a series of key categories. Each chapter explores a seminal horror film in depth, charting its scariest moments with infographics and identifying the related works you need to see.
Including references to more than 100 classic and contemporary horror films from around the globe, and striking illustrations from Barney Bodoano, this is a rich and compelling guide to the scariest films ever made.
The films:
Psycho (1960), The Innocents (1961), The Haunting (1963), Don’t Look Now (1973), The Exorcist (1973), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Who Can Kill a Child? (1976), Suspiria (1977), Halloween (1978), The Shining (1980), The Entity (1982), Angst (1983), Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1990), Ring (1998), The Blair Witch Project (1999), The Others (2001), The Eye (2002), Ju-On: The Grudge (2002), Shutter (2004), The Descent (2005), Wolf Creek (2005), The Orphanage (2007), [Rec] (2007), The Strangers (2008), Lake Mungo (2008), Martyrs (2008), The Innkeepers (2011), Banshee Chapter (2013), Oculus (2013), The Babadook (2014), It Follows (2015), Terrified (2017), Hereditary (2018), It Chapter Two (2019), Host (2020),Talk to Me (2022), Longlegs (2024)
BIO
Matt Glasby is a writer and film journalist whose work has featured in Empire, GQ, Radio Times, Total Film and more. His books include A-Z Great Film Directors and Britpop Cinema: From Trainspotting to This Is England. His latest effort, The Book of Horror: The Anatomy of Fear in Film, is an illustrated guide to the most frightening movies ever made and has an updated version out 4 September. He lives in Glasgow with his wife, two children and cat.
WEBSITE LINKS
https://mattglasby.com/
https://www.quarto.com/books/9781836009399/the-book-of-horror
https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B01CLIR7FE
Horror Features on Ginger Nuts of Horror
If you’re a fan of spine-chilling tales and hair-raising suspense, then you won’t want to miss the horror features page on The Ginger Nuts of Horror Review Website. This is the ultimate destination for horror enthusiasts seeking in-depth analysis, thrilling reviews, and exclusive interviews with some of the best minds in the genre. From independent films to mainstream blockbusters, the site covers a broad spectrum of horror media, ensuring that you’re always in the loop about the latest and greatest.
The passionate team behind The Ginger Nuts of Horror delivers thoughtful critiques and recommendations that delve into the nuances of storytelling, character development, and atmospheric tension. Whether you’re looking for hidden gems to stream on a dark and stormy night or want to explore the work of up-and-coming horror filmmakers, this page is packed with content that will ignite your imagination and keep you on the edge of your seat.
So grab your favourite horror-themed snacks, settle into a cosy spot, and immerse yourself in the chilling world of horror literature and film. Head over to The Ginger Nuts of Horror and embark on a journey through the eerie and the extraordinary. It’s an adventure you won’t soon forget!
